Lily Tarachas: Principal for a day

This is partly because the first-grader at St. Francis Xavier School had the opportunity on Monday, Feb. 28, to be principal-for-a-day at her school.

The special day was an auction item at the Catholic school's annual gala on Feb. 5.

Lily's parents, James and Katie Tarachas, won the prize.

As a result, Lily was able to work closely, from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on Monday, with St. Francis Xavier principal Phyllis Daily.

Her duties included assisting Daily with the morning prayer service in the school's assembly room; attending a morning staff meeting in the administrative office; typing up a memo to parents and students, regarding a calendar change; checking the playground at recess; and reading the book, "There's an Alligator under My Bed," to preschool, kindergarten and seventh-grade classrooms.

Daily said she was impressed with Lily, the moment she walked through the doors of the school dressed in a skirt, collared shirt, suit jacket, tights and dress shoes.

"She was dressed to the nines," Daily said.

And this feeling continued throughout the day, as Daily observed Lily performing her duties with remarkable ease.

"She's been very confident and open to suggestions all day," she said.

According to Daily, the students were also respectful of Lily's role.

"They've been very cooperative," she said. "When they see her, they call her 'principal Lily.'"

At first, Lily said she wasn't sure about taking on the role.

"I thought it was going to be just me," she said.

But once she learned that Daily would be helping her out, she went from bashful to ecstatic.

"You get to do so many fun things," she said. "I liked it because I got to read to the other classes ... I got to know other people I didn't know before."

As a special treat for her hard work, Lily was able to go off campus with Daily and a classmate to have lunch at Julienne Tomatoes.

Daily said, in the future, she would like to offer the principalship to other students.

"Just having the opportunity to share some of this with a student, may give them encouragement to go into education," she said.